# Arrogant Bastard Ale IBU Estimate?



## JeepGuy

I'm currently drinking an arrogant bastard ale. I looked at their website for the IBUs but they say "classified". Do yall have an estimate? I believe its over 100.


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## HIM

I keep seeing where people hint at 100, even a few saying the oak aged version is also 100. But some of the IPAs I brew which are really hoppy are still only in the 70s. 100ibu is really really high, it may be possible that's what it is.... But I'd be guessing its somewhere between 50 to the upper 60s. Just for comparison, Pliny the Elder is rated at 100ibu.


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## cartey

Here's a rough list of the world's 100 most bitter beers.
Stone Ruination IPA is at 105 IBU while the DOUBLE Bastard Ale is at 100 IBU.
So I would guess that the regular Arrogant Bastard isn't quite at 100 yet.


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## JeepGuy

I haven't had a pilney the elder yet though i read about it all the time. If i can find one i'll have to pick one up to compare. On a side note, i think i'm going to brew an IPA as my next brew. Do you have any recipe recommendations?


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## beercritic

It's around 115 IBU.


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## HIM

JeepGuy said:


> I haven't had a pilney the elder yet though i read about it all the time. If i can find one i'll have to pick one up to compare. On a side note, i think i'm going to brew an IPA as my next brew. Do you have any recipe recommendations?


I'll gladly give you the recipe for my house IPA. It's called Badfish IIPA and has been brewed and loved by a handful of brewers now, including some pros. 11abv, and about 68 IBU, 4 hop varieties. If you can't find the hops needed for it I can easily draw you up something damn good with readily available hops. After all, I am the pres of my Homebrew Club :mrgreen: lemme know if your interested.


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## E Dogg

I am only guessing here as I'm no expert in this by any means but I would put it between 65-75. One of my favorites is Hop Stoopid by lagunitas, and that comes in just over 100. I really don't think the AB ale is that high.... I'm gonna have to pick one up this week and revisit as it's been awhile since I've had one :wink:


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## HIM

That's what I'm saying.. I love hoppy beers and if you've ever drank some of the 100+ ibu beers their waaaay hoppier than Arrogant Bastards Ale. Now ABs IPAs are a different story.


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## Justjosh

The only Arrogant Bastard I drink is the oaked, but there is no way its hoppier than many of the IPAs out there. 100 seems high to me.


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## Gordo1473

oaked has become one of my favorites. love me some hoppy beer


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## TonyBrooklyn

Estimating Bitterness


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## HIM

The catch with that is you need to know how many oz(in Stones case #s) of hops were used and how long they were boiled. The longer you boil hops the higher the IBU, but boiling them for over 20 mins really just gives you bitterness with no flavor. Most hop additions for flavor/aroma are added within the last 15mins of the boil and contribute minimally to the IBUs. The exception being dry hopping which is done after fermentation is complete(DFH 120 is dry hopped throughout fermentation) and only adds hop aroma without adding any IBUs.


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## Cigar Noob

Just tasting bitterness and IBUs do not always go hand-in-hand IME. if there is more flavor or sweetness in their it will balance out the bitterness, or if there is nothing else there, the bitterness will be the only thing there. Also, the type of hops probably makes a huge difference. Some being very citrus-y while others being very pine-y. This is just my opinion since I am no brewer but I don't always see a direct correlation to IBUs and bitterness factor. Lagunitas is a great example. Some of their very high IBU beers are much less "bitter" tasting than some with a lower (but still quite high) IBU value. 

I say the hoppiest beer I can recall recently is Hoptimum (100 IBU) from Sierra Nevada... and I find that much more bitter than Hop Stupid (102 IBU). 

From wiki: "The bittering effect is less noticeable in beers with a high quantity of malt, so a higher IBU is needed in heavier beers to balance the flavor. For example, an Imperial Stout may have an IBU of 50, but will taste less bitter than an English Bitter with an IBU of 30, because the latter beer uses much less malt than the former. The technical limit for IBU's is around 100; some have tried to surpass this number, but there is no real gauge after 100 IBUs when it comes to taste threshold. Light lagers without much bitterness will generally have 5 IBUs, while an India Pale Ale may have 100 IBUs or more."


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## HIM

It's all about when they add the hops. If you add more in the beginning if the boil you will get more bitterness. There's also a technique called Hop Bursting that's become really popular where you add less hops in the start of the boil and make up for the IBUs by using much more hops in the end of the boil. By Hop Bursting you get a stronger and rounder hop flavor with less bitterness, as well as a big hop aroma, while still achieving a high IBU beer.
As Jonathan also mentioned, how strong or sweet the beer is also plays a part because the bitterness balances out the maltiness of the beer.


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